As the creature let out a great roar and advanced on them, its huge body looming over the children in an ominous fashion, Kassie fell to the ground, burying her face in her arms, and waited for the end. The other kids just stood there, horrified and petrified.

BANG!

An ear-splitting shot resounded; it was so loud their ears rang from it. Kassie opened her eyes, followed by the rest. Before them, materializing into flesh and blood from the shadows, stood a man with a revolver. At the tip of the barrel, black smoke curled off from the recent shot, and he blew away the rest with a careless flick. With an expert wheel, he clicked another round into the chamber with an exact, practiced motion in that revolver.

Growling in pain, anger, it backed off, its glowing eye damaged from the man's good shot. Then it began to shake, the monstrous form seeming to tremble, unsure of what to do next. Slowly, the man turned toward them, his face hard and inscrutable.

"Oi, don't go anywhere. Just you stay there until I tell you to move," he commanded, his voice brooking no argument.

Still shaken, there was little the children could do but nod at the order; their fear of the man now mingled with their fear of whatever beast lurked in the darkness.

The beast roared again, angry and wilder than ever. It charged at the man with renewed efforts, in which its long claws dug and scratched in its speeding towards the target. The man didn't flinch at the action but had a smirk tugged to his lips' corner, further amused by the creature's rage.

At the instant that bestial terror was about to lunge inseparably, sidestepping with so much grace, swinging his revolver like a hammer and cracking it into the face of the beast, he staggered the hard force of the blow into the beast. In that split second, the man used the momentum to hurl himself upward and somersault over the creature's massive head in a graceful twist.

He landed lightly on his feet behind the beast, in the center of the clear field, turning on his heel to face the creature once more. The beast, momentarily disoriented, shook its head and growled, clearly frustrated by its inability to land a hit. The two combatants stood in silence for a tense moment, sizing each other up. His body was loose, almost casual in attitude, as if he were engaging in nothing more strenuous than some sloppy sort of calisthenics. The beast, however, was strung taut and suspicious, its one eye fixed on the man with a curious blend of hatred and fear.

In one quick flick of the man, he drew his revolver into the holster at his left side, and from his belt, pulled out a long, shining knife, twirling it about with expert precision in his hand.

"Come on, then," he taunted, ringing assurance in his voice.

"Show me what you've got, little pup." The response was a bellow at it charged once more. This time, faster than ever. But he was ready. He ducked low, dodging the creature's swipe, and cut with his knife across its flank as he rolled to the side.

The creature howled in pain, but before it could react, the man had moved again to circle clear around to its blind side. He landed a kick to the back of the creature's knee and sent it stumbling. While it was trying to regain its balance, the man jumped onto its back and then sank the great knife clear to the hilt into its shoulder. It thrashed wildly about, causing the man to hang like a seasoned bronco rider.

With one final, vicious jerk of the knife, he ripped the blade free and somersaulted off the beast's back to land smoothly on his feet several paces away. In agony, the creature howled as it turned to face him a second time; its rage now finally ignited.

The man, still sneering, cleansed the blade of his knife of blood with an indifferent flick at his wrist and did a reloading of his revolver with deliberation. Bleeding and enraged, the beast roared back at him in defiance, but there was now just a touch more caution in its movements; it had underestimated its opponent, and the realization was beginning to set in.

"Not much of a beast now, are you?" the man muttered under his breath, shining eyes glinting in the dark like those of a predator. He spun the gun one last time, locked it into place, and put it back on the beast with a resolute jaw.

The beast began to smoke; wispy tendrils rose from his dark fur. The smell of burning hair hit the air as the man came to a pause, his eyes furrowed in surprise. There were crackling and hissing sounds from its damaged eye socket, and, to Kogel's astonishment, burst into flames that roared to life in an intensity so violent.

As the flames licked around the beast's eye, its whole body began to smolder, and the heat became so strong that the air itself seemed to twist and waver. Kogel took a cautious step back; his usually calm demeanor gave way for an instance to unease at the situation.

"This. isn't in the manual." he muttered, his brow splashing up in the sweat while he watched the development of it all.

It roared; its voice was now processed into a low, rumbling growl that seemed to vibrate against the earth itself. Flames scorching its fur began increasing in their power until from darkness, they turned into a white-hot blaze. Fur that had clothed the monstrous form began to burn away, rolling and disintegrating in the searing heat. There was something underneath that made Kogel's eyes widen in incredulity.

As the last part of fur turned into ash and blew away in the breeze, plainly exposed was the rudimentary construct of the beast: a metallic, nightmarish entity gleaming in the moonlight. Its body seemed a grotesque amalgamation of mechanical parts; each one was welded with brutal efficiency together. Whirring and clicking at its joints, it moved with sinister precision as steam hissed from vents along its back.

Where there had once been muscle and sinew, now was only cold, feelingless steel. On top of everything else, the limbs of the creature were strengthened with blades from its razor-sharp claws, and where its head had partly been, was now all metal with a face of burning white eyes—one of them just regenerated and burning cold with calculated rage.

B.E.A.S.T [https://i.postimg.cc/BQvgw50F/99bea1e2-941d-4743-bb7e-8639f0a2c3d9.jpg]

This was no ordinary beast. It was a machine—a killing machine—encased in a grim skin suit that was stitched and quilted from the pelts of the many varied beasts that it had killed. The patchwork hide covering this horror now burned from its body, revealing the creature for what it truly was: terrible.

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The machine's body glistened menacingly, with the metal plating only thinly over cast-iron complexity in gears and cables that hummed with dark energy, warning of a malevolent intelligence behind it. Kogel's hand instinctively tightened around the grip of his revolver while his mind raced to assimilate this new development.

"Well, that's going to be a problem," he whispered to himself—the understatement of the year.

Yet, despite the danger of it all, the smallest of smiles tugged at his lips. Just like that, things had turned personal, and he could feel the adrenaline surging through his veins.

Finally, the beast turned into what it was; it roared again. The sound was increasingly mechanical, less organic, with more grinding of huge gears. It bent down its head; the white glowing eyes ironed onto Kogel, fixing him in its deadly gaze. Heated air emanates from its body, scorching the grass beneath it dark and black. Kogel sucked in a deep breath, his body tense. This was no ordinary hunt, for he was fighting against something unlike anything else: a creature that defied all the natural laws. The one thing he knew how to do was adjust, and he sure was not going to turn his back now.

He spun his revolver to the final time; the metallic click was unashamedly louder over the silence that came with the beast's conclusions. The creature flew at him with a blur of metal, the claws tearing through the air with an agonizing screech. Kogel sidestepped and rolled onto his feet in time to avoid the killing blow. The ground he had been standing on erupted into a shower of dirt and debris as the beast's claws easily ripped their way through the earth like knives through butter. Kogel didn't hesitate. With a mighty clang, he raised his revolver and let fly with a lead bullet into the exposed gears of the beast. The sparks flew everywhere, but the creature did not slow down.

"Two rounds out," Kogel groaned under his breath, teeth gritted in frustration. "And it's not even scratching that bastard's skin."

He quickly reloaded as his mind was racing with finding an answer to just how he could take down this mechanical nightmare. Every shot he had fired so far had barely dented its armored exterior, the beast, and quite literally, time was running out.

The creature roared again, its metal body rattling violently as it let out a loud, mechanical growl. Flames burst from its mouth, scorching the meadow area and charring the ground beneath its feet into smoldering ruin. Tremendous waves of heat came off it, ruffling the air with a palpable sensation reminiscent of that from an oasis illusion. It suddenly burst into flame and jet-launched at Kogel, its outstretched claws glowing in a fiery inferno.

"Oh shit!" Kogel cursed as he narrowly dodged it, the claw grazing his arm as he dove to the side.

The pain was sharp, like molten lava injected directly into his veins. Kogel hissed, teeth clenched tightly together, as he clutched the seared arm to his chest, rolling to his feet. His flesh burned with the wound, but he willed himself, for now, past it. Distractions were something he couldn't afford right now.

But the beast refused to concede. It whirled on Kogel, snarling with vicious intent, his glowing white eyes fixed upon him like duelist's deadly sights. Barely in time, Kogel squared himself before the creature savaged again. This time, its claws flashed through the air blur-quick, eviscerating. He dodged left, avoiding being eviscerated, but the beast merely pressed on with an attack that was relentless and fierce enough to leave him breathless.

Kogel bobbed and weaved, each movement desperate to stay one step ahead of the lethal creature's strikes. He loosed another round at it, whose bullet ricocheted with showers of sparks off its metallic hide. The attacks were becoming more coordinated and brutal, stronger by the second. The very ground they had to step on was a battlefield of burning terrain and flaming wreckage, for every step the beast made churned out craters that smoldered in its wake. Oppressive heat had the air thick with stinking fumes, burnt grass, and molten metal. Kogel felt his strength waning; the relentless onslaught pushed him to his limits.

A massive claw came crashing down toward him, and Kogel rolled out of the way just in time, the ground where he had stood erupting in a shower of dirt and flame. He fired another shot, trying to get in at the joints in this beast's armor, but the bullet glanced off to scratch little more than flesh.

"Dammit!" Kogel growled, feeling frustration mount. He needed to find a weakness, something he could exploit, but the beast seemed invulnerable. Every strike, every shot, every move he made was met with overwhelming force.

The beast bellowed again, and Kogel saw it start to charge up for another jet of flame. The earth at its feet began to glow with an intense heat, the very air around it shimmering, but then, something caught his eye—just for a moment, as the beast's flames roared to life, he noticed the slightest distortion in its armor. That intense heat wasn't just affecting the ground; it was getting to the creature itself.

The thought flickered through Kogel's brain barely in time as the beast charged again. This time, instead of dodging, Kogel braced his legs wide apart for the impact. Just as the creature was about to meet him, he sidestepped at the last moment, and the beast overextended, stumbling slightly. He fired again, this time to where armor had warped with heat. The bullet struck true, lodging in the weakened metal, and the beast reared up in pain, a guttural mechanical screech torn from its throat.

Kogel's eyes widened in realization. The incredible heat that supplied the beast with its power was also its greatest weakness. The temperatures were so hot that it began to soften the metal exoskeleton and warp it under the pressure. Provided he could force it to generate more heat, it might just melt itself from the inside out.

"Alright, you metal piece of shit," Kogel muttered, a grim smile spreading upon his face.

"Let us just see if you can handle a little more of this."

The beast, plainly hurt and angry, charged at him again as flames roared form its maw. Kogel shadow danced around the creature, goading it to hit him with its best blows. Every flame-burst against the armor made it glow a degree brighter, the metal shell no longer impenetrable but softening, its first cracks showing under the strain. Kogel kept firing, aiming his shots at those places on the armor where it was buckling. The beast roared in frustration, the movements becoming more erratic, more desperate. It charged at him with a savage roar, but Kogel had readyed himself.

Knowing exactly where to aim, he fired one last shot—into the critical spot of the creature's chest where the armor was thinnest. The bullet perforated through metal, and the beast stumbled as its roar turned a gurgling screech with steam hissing from the wound.

It began to stumble as its inside temperature reached critical. It was burning from the inside out, its once-formidable exoskeleton now melting and warping beyond repair. With one final earsplitting roar, the creature collapsed, the body crumpling into a molten heap of metal and flames.

Kogel breathed hard, standing above the burning remains, his reigning body shot with burns and fatigue. He watched as the flames slowly died out into nothing-more than a smoldering pile of twisted metal. And once more the night was quiet, except for the sound of crackling embers and the chirping of crickets in the far-off distance.

"Guess that's how you put out a fire," Kogel muttered to himself, holstering his revolver. Despite the throbbing pain and exhaustion, he couldn't help but smirk; it had been a close fight, too close, but he was the last standing, after all.